Tuesday, January 20, 1998
I asked Mr. S to listen to my SMF for XG. His evaluation wasn't bad and I think that he made some important points. He seemed kind of intimidated to critique my work but since I don't have much experience working with XG, I really appreciated his suggestions. He gave me some very good advice on using effects. Honestly, effects are not my specialty. I always hated relying on effects when I played the bass. I'm still really a beginner in this area. So, In preparation for my next work on MU-100R data, I made a serious effort to learn the effect types and algorithms.

That afternoon, I began to work on the data for MU-100R. I tried to figure out how to create songs with plug-ins but found it too difficult because I couldn't hear how the voices really sound. Since I couldn't come up with any brilliant alternatives, I decided to just play around with the machine for a while. This is actually bad habit of mine. I started to play without even reading the manual. It sounded BAD. I quickly formed an opinion about the VL that was totally unfavorable...and also, totally wrong.

Note: Optional plug-in boards are available for MU100 and MU100-R. The Formant Singing board allows simulated and human voices to be synthesized for playback as vocals. The Effect board adds effects to vocals resulting in a variety of harmonies.

I have a good understanding of Physical Modeling Synthesis but when it comes to actually using it, I can't say that I am an expert. I gave up using the VL Visual Editor because I use a Macintosh and, to tell the truth, my confidence level had definitely dropped.

My mind started to wander, I began thinking about ways of accessing voices on the Plug-In board. I decided to call it a day.

Wednesday, January 21, 1998
The sketch for the first song is finished. In the end, I decided to use VL voices for the melody but I couldn't seem to find anything good. I used alternative voices with a little override to give it a guitar-like feeling. I decided to go this route because the sound was created in such a way that tapping and feedback are very apparent. The final product is unexpectedly good, especially when you consider that I really haven't figured out the true value of VL yet.

Well, at least the first song is done. This was essential in order to deliver the work as scheduled. I had the harmony and instruments in my mind for the next song. Although these elements can be added easily, I had to struggle to get through the setup. The voices that I was going to use were different from the bulk dump which was there "just in case". In the end, I used the settings straight off the panel.

I copied some of the more important parts of the manual and made my own little "quick guide". This way it will be easier to find the information that I tend to look for most often. I couldn't find the information about the VarSend parameter. I'll check it tomorrow. It's past midnight and the next song is almost complete.

Thursday, January 22, 1998
Still a long way to go. I'm getting nervous (^_^;).

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